


Step One

by bevinkathryn



Series: Pole Dancing AU [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Laughter During Sex, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-24
Updated: 2013-01-24
Packaged: 2017-11-26 18:58:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/653406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bevinkathryn/pseuds/bevinkathryn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bored while picking Merlin up from the studio, Arthur stumbles across the sex edition of COSMO.  Later, Merlin puts their tips to use.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Step One

**Author's Note:**

> None of the quotes are actual quotes, although many of them _are_ very close to it. Each one is inspired by various COSMO articles.
> 
> Read on [my lj](http://silverwings2020.livejournal.com/4560.html).

 

The first official date was a success.  Merlin’s lips tasted like spices when Arthur kissed him over their curry, and his skin was soft when he ran his hands over it later, wrapped up in the rumpled covers of Merlin’s bed.  Their second dinner followed shortly after, then a third and a fourth.  By the end of the month, Arthur had seen all three _Lord of the Rings_ films (director’s cut, and then with cast commentary), and even introduced Merlin to Llamrei in return (a privilege which only the very few were privy to, purely for the embarrassment of being a grown man with a turtle).  Gwen had taken to calling them _Merlin-and-Arthur_ very pointedly and smugly whenever she invited them somewhere.  Arthur found he didn’t really mind.

Almost five months after the day that they met, Arthur was sitting in his office winding down for the day.  He and Merlin had already made plans to meet up that night, so he was surprised when his phone lit up with a text from him just minutes before he was due to leave.

**_Merlin Emrys_ ** _  
got caught up at the studio…could you pick me up here?_

Arthur rose his eyebrows up at his phone.  In spite of how much time they’d spent together, Arthur had never actually been to Merlin’s dance studio.  He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little bit curious about what it was like, and quickly typed out his response.

_Sure. Text me the address._

Twenty minutes later Arthur pulled into the car park of Round Table Studio, staring dubiously at the blinking fairy lights strung in the window.  He pushed open the door and found himself in a fairly typical-looking lobby, the wide far wall decorated with framed photographs of dancers in various positions between two doors leading into what Arthur assumed were dance studios.  A woman stepped through a third door, this one apparently an office, when she heard Arthur come in.

“Sophia, your lesson started ten minutes ago, where have—oh.”  The woman stopped abruptly, looking confused.  “Sorry, I thought you were one of my students.  My name’s Helen.   Can I help you with anything?”

“I’m just here to collect Merlin,” Arthur said, and the woman’s immediately gave him a knowing, gap-toothed smile.

“Oh, you must be his new bloke.  Merlin’s just in there,” she pointed at one of the doors.  “You can go right in.”

“Thank you.”  Arthur pasted on a rather forced smile as he moved towards the door, aware of Helen’s gaze fixed on his arse while he walked.  He hurriedly let himself into the room she’d pointed out, and was immediately hit with a wave of violin music.  The room looked very much like the dance studios his sister Morgana had taken lessons in when they were young—wooden floors from the floor-to-ceiling mirrors to the tan walls with the barre—except for the three shining poles lined up in the middle.  The music was coming from a stereo on the far wall, which Merlin was standing beside.  He didn’t notice Arthur at first, too busy watching the [girl](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obC7vjVc8Rk&feature=related) on the furthest pole.  Arthur recognized her as Freya from the performance months ago.  This routine was much smoother than that one, more like a ballerina than a cat, and suited her just as well.

Merlin caught sight of Arthur when Freya was swinging into her final spin, and broke into a smile.

“Arthur, hi, you found it,” he said as the music faded.  Freya, still bent in half and spinning slightly, dropped her head down to look at them.

“Ooh, _you’re_ Arthur,” she giggled, and immediately blushed.  Arthur sent an amused look at Merlin.

“Arthur, this is Freya,” Merlin mumbled, red-cheeked, as the other dancer quickly scrambled off of the pole.  She took Arthur’s hand shyly, and Arthur was instantly smitten with her.

“Pleasure to meet you, Freya,” he said with a warm smile.  “I saw you at the event a few weeks ago, you’re very talented.”

“Oh,” Freya said.  “Thank you.”

Merlin gave her a fond smile as he wrapped an arm around her middle.  “I was just helping Freya smooth out her routine for a competition this weekend.  Although I don’t know why she bothered, she’s as flawless as always.”

Freya ducked her head to hide a blush.  “Could we run through it one more time?  I’m still not sure it’s ready.  Unless,” she threw Arthur a shy glance, “you have to go?”

Merlin raised an eyebrow at Arthur, but Arthur shook his head.

“Take your time.  I’ll just wait in the lobby.  Lovely meeting you, Freya.”

Both dancers smiled at him before they turned back to the stereo.  Arthur left them to it.  Helen was thankfully nowhere to be seen in the lobby, so he settled into one of the chairs to wait.  He contemplated getting out his mobile to check his emails, but decided against it.  He didn’t want to be thinking about work on a date.  There was, however, a pile of magazines on a table nearby.  He wasn’t surprised to find that most of them were things like Women’s Health, but he figured it beat staring at the wall and picked one at random.

A beaming woman with windblown hair and a designer dress stared up at him under the title _COSMOPOLITAN_ , and a starburst near her elbow proclaimed it to be the sex issue—‘ _tips, tales, and tidbits to help you AND your man get the ultimate O!_ ’

Arthur rolled his eyes and flipped to a random page.  A ridiculously posed photograph of a pouting woman in bed took up almost the entire page, with the words ‘Embrace Your Inner Goddess’ stamped across her belly and thighs.  He snorted and flicked his gaze over to the rest of the article.

_Tired of disappointment in the bedroom?  Here’s 10 tips to help you take control in the sheets—and leave HIM happy, too!_

_1\. Switch it up!  
If your normal routine isn’t hitting the spot, take the top! Have your man lie on his back while you straddle his hips and rock back and forth (ride ‘im, cowgirl!). Feels great, and it’s a nice view!_

                _2\. Teasing is for more than just hair…_

Arthur read through the rest of the list with increasingly raised brows, alternating between sniggering at the ridiculousness of some of the suggestions and wincing at the awful puns.  He actually squirmed in his seat when one of the articles advised sucking on ice cubes before giving head for a “cool down sensation”, wondering who on earth had come up with that and what poor sod had been the test dummy.

He’d just moved on to ‘Household Toys: Spice It Up Without Spending Money’ when the door opened and Merlin stepped out into the lobby, the opening strands of Freya’s routine floating out with him.

“Hey, sorry about that,” he said, closing the door on the music.  “Freya caught me right as I was about to leave, and I couldn’t say no.”

“It’s fine,” Arthur shrugged, but Merlin’s attention had already dropped to the magazine in his lap.

“Arthur.  Are you reading _Cosmo_?” he asked, making no attempt to hide his teasing smirk.  Arthur brandished the magazine.

“It was either that or Vogue.  And this, at least, has been very educational.”

Merlin giggled.  “Has it now?”

“Yes.  Listen: ‘Use what you’ve got; instead of throwing his clothes aside in a fit of passion, incorporate it into the action. Try putting a sock on his erection and teasing him with a hand job. Hot _and_ thrifty!’”

“Maybe if you’re 15 and alone,” Merlin laughed, coming over to peer over Arthur’s shoulder.  “God, who even writes this stuff?”

“Someone who had never been in contact with your smelly feet.”

“Shut up.”  Merlin elbowed Arthur just hard enough to jostle him and flipped the page.  “Ugh, gross.  ‘Raid the kitchen for something sweet to make it extra hot. Whipped cream, honey, and chocolate syrup are great for licking off your man’—honestly, who’d want to clean that up?”

“Some people do,” Arthur shrugged, wrinkling his nose.  Merlin did the same.

“Can’t say I fancy the idea of sleeping in chocolate syrup.  What else have they got?”

The next page was all about the do’s and don’ts of sexting (featuring examples that were so horrendous Merlin was reduced to helpless laughter), followed by an article full of roleplay advice and how to give the ultimate strip show.  Arthur’s personal favourite was the one about lingerie, which prompted a debate over which of them would look better in a corset.

“—it’s obviously you, _Mer_ lin.  Your hips are slimmer than mine.  And your legs…” Arthur let his eyes travel over said legs, picturing them clad in tights and wrapped around his hips.  “In fact, I’m starting to like this idea.”

“Maybe.  If you’re good,” Merlin said, and Arthur tried not to look too excited.

They both got a good laugh at ‘Go for gold: show off your athletic side with these sexy positions’, taking turns at reading the truly awful sport puns aloud.  By the time they got to ‘Re-vamp You Engine’, they were both sniggering a little too loudly, and Merlin finally flipped the book shut.

“Oh God, I can’t take it anymore.  If I see one more reference to middle-aged vaginas I’m going to be sick.  Besides, I’ll never hear the end of it if Helen catches me reading _Cosmo_.”

Arthur chuckled, but tossed the magazine aside.  “What did you have in mind for dinner, then?”

“D’you know, I could kill for some Chinese,” Merlin said, leading Arthur out of the studio by his elbow.

“Excellent.  I know a great place—“

“By ‘great’, you mean ‘posh’, don’t you?”

“Just because the silverware isn’t plastic doesn’t mean it’s posh, _Mer_ lin,” Arthur replied, tugging on Merlin’s scarf for good measure.

In the end, Merlin conceded (Arthur was paying, after all; and they both knew that Merlin didn’t really mind Arthur’s restaurants), and a little more than an hour later found them retreating to Arthur’s flat, well-fed and teasing each other gently.  Merlin immediately made a beeline for Llamrei’s tank.

“Hey there, little guy,” he said, bending to be on eye-level with the turtle.  Lammrei blinked sleepily at him, unimpressed as ever with Merlin’s smile.  Arthur rolled his eyes.

“Come here, idiot,” he demanded.  Merlin just gave him a look, so he hooked his fingers into Merlin’s belt loops and tugged him closer that way, grinning at Merlin’s huff of laughter.

“So demanding,” Merlin tutted, but made no protests when Arthur shut him up with a kiss.  Llamrei seemed to give them a look of disdain but otherwise ignored them as Arthur nipped at Merlin’s lips.  Arthur wasn’t really sure how much time, exactly, had passed with them just teasing each other’s mouths before Merlin pulled away with a cheeky wink and said, “You know, your sofa is much better suited for this, as I recall.”

“Hm.  Brilliant idea,” Arthur agreed.  He led the way across the sitting room, but when he made to push Merlin onto the sofa to resume ravishing him, Merlin resisted.

“I’m just going to grab a glass of water first,” he said, evading Arthur’s hold with a small laugh.  “You read the magazine.  Hydration is a necessity.”  He leaned in for a quick kiss before gently shoving Arthur back towards the sofa.  “Be right back.”

Arthur settled into the sofa, rolling his eyes when the sounds of Merlin banging around in the kitchen drifted towards him.   He grinned expectantly when the banging stopped, but Merlin didn’t reappear.  Another minute passed, and when there was still no sign of Merlin Arthur frowned and got to his feet.

“Merlin?” he called, sticking his head into the hall.  “Did you get lost?  I know you’re an idiot, but the kitchen isn’t _that_ hard to find.”

There was no answer, and when Arthur stepped into the kitchen he was confused to find it empty.  “Merlin?” he tried again, stepping further into the room.  There was still no sign of Merlin, but a piece of paper had been propped against a glass on the table that hadn’t been there before.  Arthur moved towards it.  Merlin’s messy handwriting was immediately recognizable, scrawled across a napkin.  Arthur looked around again, but there was still no Merlin, so he picked up the note.

 _Roses are red,_  
Violets are blue,  
Come meet me in bed  
‘Cause I’m gonna ride you.

Arthur laughed aloud, letting the note fall as he made to follow its order.  He was still grinning when he pushed open his bedroom door and his eyes fell onto his bed and the long body sprawled atop it.  Merlin was smiling at him from the pillows, one hand propping his head up and the other dancing along the hem of his t-shirt.  Anticipation warmed Arthur’s belly.

“Hello there,” Merlin said with a smug grin.  He offered a hand to Arthur, and Arthur didn’t even hesitate in accepting it and allowing himself to be tugged onto the bed.  He stretched over Merlin’s body, placing a kiss against Merlin’s mouth, then his nose, and back again.

“Got your note,” he said, pulling back enough to loom over Merlin, who pulled a horrified face.

“You found it?  Oh shit, that was meant for Lance, excuse me—“

“Stuff it, you loony,” Arthur laughed, pressing himself down harder when Merlin made to leave.  “I’ve got you right where I want you.  You’re not going anywhere.”

Merlin smiled slowly.  “Well, in that case.”  He stretched up to meet Arthur’s kisses, falling further back into the pillows in favor of wrapping his arms around Arthur’s waist.  Their legs were already tangled, Merlin’s hips using the leverage to thrust lazily against Arthur’s.  The small friction was more than enough to coax Arthur into deepening the kiss, Merlin’s cheeky poem stuck in his mind.

Arthur slipped his hand under Merlin’s t-shirt, expecting the ghost of laughter from Merlin as his fingers tickled his belly.  What he didn’t expect was for Merlin to use his weight to reverse their positions.  He blinked as Merlin traced kisses down his chest, but decided to roll with it.  After all, Merlin pinning him down was just as good as doing the pinning himself.  But as soon as he tried to pull Merlin back up he pulled away, batting Arthur’s hands away with an impish grin.

“ _Mer_ lin,” Arthur groaned.  Merlin simply tutted.

“Patience, Arthur.  Or you’re not getting your surprise.”

Which, of course, immediately caught Arthur’s attention.

“What surprise?”

In answer, Merlin crawled just close enough to kiss him on the mouth, keeping his balance with his hands on Arthur’s chest.  Before it could get too heated, Merlin pulled away enough to murmur against Arthur’s lips, “Step one.  The strip is in the hips.”

Arthur threw back his head and _laughed_.  Merlin grinned and shimmied his way towards the edge of the mattress, wiggling his hips in a way that probably would have been ridiculous if he wasn’t distracting Arthur with nimble fingers rubbing against his hardening cock.  Arthur propped himself up on his elbows to watch Merlin’s descent.  He stopped when his hips were level with Arthur’s knees, letting his hands drag tantalizingly along Arthur’s thighs.

“Step two.  Keep your man involved.”

Before Arthur could do more than raise an eyebrow, Merlin whipped the scarf from his neck and tossed it over Arthur’s.  He waggled his eyebrows and tugged until Arthur was in a sitting position, close enough to lean forward and cover his amused smirk with a kiss.  Arthur made to wrap his arms around Merlin, but the moment he shifted Merlin was moving again, pulling Arthur to the edge of the mattress before he himself scurried off with a wicked grin.

“Step three.  Make it slow.”

Arthur groaned.  “Tease,” he said, hoping that Merlin would mistake the breathiness in his voice for frustration.  Judging by Merlin’s grin, though, he hadn’t.

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Merlin promised.  He took three steps backwards, hips swaying too far out to be seductive.  Arthur’s cock didn’t mind, though.  He watched Merlin shimmy his shirt off and reached down to rub himself slowly.  The combination of seeing that milky skin exposed for him and not being able to touch driving him crazy, even as Merlin tossed the shirt at Arthur’s face.

“You are a master of seduction,” Arthur laughed, pulling the fabric off.  Merlin dimpled at him.

“So I’ve been told,” he agreed sagely, and gave an exaggerated turn away, complete with a wink over his shoulder.  Arthur was reminded so forcibly of the first night they’d met his breath caught in his throat, and then bubbled out in laughter when Merlin wriggled his bum at him.

“Come here, you idiot,” Arthur demanded once Merlin had shucked his sweats and was down to only his pants.  Merlin crawled eagerly into his lap, Arthur pressed a kiss to the tattoo on his hip, and together they pushed Arthur’s shirt off of his shoulders.  Arthur settled back on his hands to watch Merlin open his fly.  He couldn’t do more than tease at the front of Arthur’s boxers in their current position, so Arthur seized his hips and flipped them over, making Merlin giggle as he bounced on the mattress.  Arthur smiled fondly at him.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“And _you’re_ still wearing trousers,” Merlin replied, making an impatient waving motion with his hands.  “Come on, pop ‘em off, quick as you like.”

Arthur rolled his eyes but wasted no time in kicking off his trousers and crawling to join Merlin in the middle of the bed.  Merlin immediately wrapped his arms around him and kissed him senseless.  When Arthur had to pull away to breathe, Merlin moved down to kiss along his jaw, then his neck, and finally his chest.  Arthur had to bite his lip to muffle his moan when Merlin sucked his nipple into his mouth, letting one of his hands travel down to fondle Arthur’s cock and balls.

“Jesus Christ,” he groaned, fingers burying themselves in Merlin’s hair.  “Did they teach you that in C _osmo_?”

“Mmm, nope.  That one’s all me,” Merlin hummed smugly, pressing one last kiss to Arthur’s chest before moving back up for a proper kiss.

“Well then.  What else did you learn today, _Mer_ lin?” Arthur asked.  Merlin gave him a slow smile, glancing up from beneath his lashes in mimicry of coyness.  His fingers tangled in Arthur’s hair, tugging him closer to Merlin so he could press a flurry of kisses to his collarbone.  Arthur tilted his head to grant him more access, and was rewarded with Merlin’s hands stroking down his back to grip his arse.

“Arthur,” Merlin sighed, and Arthur’s cock twitched at his husky voice, “you feel so good.  Want you to touch me _there_.”

Surprised laughter burst out of Arthur’s throat.  Merlin pressed his grin against the hollow of Arthur’s neck.

“Did you just quote _Fifty Shades of Grey_ at me?”

Merlin giggled.  “Stop talking and do me.”

“Oh my god,” Arthur groaned, ducking his head to hide a snigger, “I will _not_ be able to take you seriously if you use awful dirty talk on me while I’m fucking you.”

“What do you mean awful?  I’m brilliant at dirty talk,” Merlin purred.  “Besides, you don’t seem to mind all that much.”  He pressed a hand against Arthur’s cock, still stiff in his pants, precome already collecting at the tip and wetting the cloth trapping it.  Merlin, he could see, was in a similar state.

“Come on, baby,” Merlin continued in a sing-song voice, not waiting for Arthur to respond, “let me make you feel so good.”

In response, Arthur groaned and pushed Merlin onto his back.  He went willingly, laughing and eagerly returning the kisses Arthur offered.  Their hips brushed together accidentally, and then Merlin did it again deliberately.  And suddenly Arthur was more than happy to grind against Merlin while he kissed patterns against his neck.  Merlin’s hitched breathing ruffled the hair over Arthur’s ear, occasionally broken up with things like “Yeah, _sweet_ heart,” or “Mmm, play with me”.  He sounded like an actor in the shitty porn Arthur’d downloaded from free sites when he’d been a horny teenager, making both of them snicker helplessly and their rhythms falter.

“Oh, Arthur, make me sc—oh,” Merlin’s laughter hiccupped into a gasp when Arthur snuck a hand into his pants.  Arthur smirked and tugged the fabric away, giving Merlin a few teasing tugs.

“You’re not the only one who paid attention,” he grinned.  Merlin just bit his lip, letting his fingernails scrape at Arthur’s shoulder.”

“Very impressive,” he agreed, and dragged Arthur down for a filthy, messy kiss with too much tongue.  They had to break away a second later for laughter and Arthur pressed their foreheads together.  Merlin’s skin was warm where he touched it, flushed from the steady movement of Arthur’s fist on his cock.  Merlin’s hips rocked into it, asking without words for more, and Arthur obeyed.

“Oh,” Merlin sighed, and Arthur could see the act slipping away from the way his eyes fluttered closed and his legs fell open to allow Arthur more access.  Long fingers tangled in Arthur’s hair as Merlin got closer to the edge.

“Baby,” Merlin choked around quiet gasps, and Arthur smiled even as his own cock throbbed.  “Baby, yeah, f-faster...”

Merlin’s lip was caught between his teeth when Arthur kissed him.  He was close, eyes squeezed shut and breathing heavily in time with Arthur’s fist.

“That’s it,” Arthur encouraged him.  Merlin was gorgeous like this, so close to falling apart that Arthur couldn’t resist grinding his erection against Merlin’s hip.  “I want to see it.  Spend for me, baby.”

Merlin stuttered out a laugh as he came.  His entire body stiffened beneath Arthur’s and then went boneless.  Arthur kissed him, kept kissing him until Merlin was pressing back again and pushing the heel of his hand down against Arthur’s erection.  His movements were slow and sated, too slow for Arthur, who growled a little desperately before taking his own cock out and stroking.  Merlin hummed encouragingly, eyes flicking between Arthur’s hand to his face and back.

“Close?” he asked.  Arthur nodded.  “Good.”  Keeping his eyes locked with Arthur’s, Merlin dragged a hand through the come on his stomach.  Arthur groaned when Merlin licked his fingers clean and moved his hand even faster.  Merlin smiled at him.

“Go ahead, Arthur.  Come on me.”

“Shut up,” Arthur snorted.  Merlin laughed and pulled Arthur down for a kiss, and when Arthur came it was with Merlin’s taste on his tongue and his voice in his ear.

\---

“Jesus fuck, it’s _freezing_ out there.”

“Well maybe if you bought an actual coat, _Mer_ lin,” Arthur replied, closing the door to his flat after his boyfriend rushed inside.  He turned around in time to catch Merlin’s eye roll and to kiss Merlin’s cold, chapped lips.

“Nah.  I’ll just steal yours again.”  Merlin gave him a crinkly-eyed grin.  He was still dressed for the studio in threadbare sweats and a t-shirt under his ratty old jacket, bag slung over one arm.  “I’m not late, am I?  I left the studio as soon as I could.”

“You’re fine.  Early, in fact.”

“Early enough for a shower?” Merlin asked hopefully.  Arthur nodded, and he beamed gratefully.  “Brilliant.  Here, hold this would you?”

Arthur huffed when Merlin’s dance bag was shoved into his arms, but his annoyed, “ _Mer_ lin,” fell on deaf ears as the dancer scampered off towards the bathroom.  Rolling his eyes, Arthur made to put the bag in the bedroom, but before he could make it down the hall Merlin popped his head out of the door.

“By the way, there’s a surprise for you in there,” he said nonchalantly, and promptly shut the door again, but not before Arthur caught sight of his grin.

Slightly wary of what he might find, Arthur peered into the messy bag.  At first he saw nothing other than Merlin’s change of clothes and other dance necessities, but then a flash of colour caught his eye.  He pulled it out, and nearly dropped the bag laughing when he saw the smirking, windblown woman pouting up at him from beneath the _COSMOPOLITAN_ headline.

And there, near her elbow, was the words ‘Shower Sex—Gettin’ Clean AND Gettin’ Dirty!’.

“In case you were wondering,” Merlin’s voice shouted from the bathroom, “that is definitely an invitation.”  And what could Arthur do but accept.


End file.
